DETROIT -- The Justice Department, fighting a former prosecutor's bid for legal fees, says he has been telling lies at least since his college application.

Richard Convertino was acquitted last year of obstructing justice and other charges involving a 2003 terrorism case. He won that case but the conviction was reversed on appeal, and the Justice Department charged that he manufactured evidence.

In a filing last week, the department alleged Convertino falsely said on his college application that he had been elected high school president and then, when he applied to law school, that he had served in the military, The Detroit News reported.

Convertino, who said he is planning to sue for malicious prosecution, accused the department of violating an order sealing the claims. A judge ruled them inadmissible in the criminal trial.

"I will fight them until hell freezes over and then on the ice," he said. "This is our government that is conducting themselves in this manner, and it's disgusting that they're able to do that."